SEARCH · Engineering Papers

Results for “ocean monitoring”

Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

SourceResearch connectionFrom yearThrough year

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 793 records · Page 44

All sources NASA NTRS DOE OSTI

NASA NTRS2021

Cirrus Cloud Top-of-the-Atmosphere Net Daytime Forcing in the Alaskan Subarctic from Ground-Based MPLNET Monitoring

Cirrus cloud daytime top-of-the-atmosphere radiative forcing (TOA CRF) is estimated for a two-year NASA Micro-Pulse Lidar Network (532 nm; MPLNET) dataset collected at Fairbanks, Alaska. Two-year averaged daytime TOA CRF is estimated at between -1.08 and 0.78 W·m-2 (-0.49 to 1.10 W·m-2 in 2017, and -1.67 to 0.47 W·m-2 in 2018). This subarctic study completes a now trilogy of MPLNET ground-based cloud forcing investigations, following midlatitude and tropical studies by Campbell et al. (2016; C16) at Greenbelt, Maryland and Lolli et al. (2017) at Singapore. C16 hypothesize a global meridional daytime TOA CRF gradient that begins positive at the equator (2.20 – 2.59 W·m-2 over land and -0.46 – 0.42 W·m-2 over ocean at Singapore), becomes neutral in the midlatitudes (0.03 – 0.27 W·m-2 over land in Maryland) and turns negative moving poleward. This study does not completely confirm C16, as values are not found as exclusively negative. Evidence in historical reanalysis data suggests that daytime cirrus forcing in and around the subarctic likely once was exclusively negative. Increasing tropopause heights, inducing higher and colder cirrus, have likely increased regional forcing over the last forty years. We hypothesize that subarctic inter-annual cloud variability is likely a considerable influence on global cirrus cloud forcing sensitivity, given the irregularity of polar versus midlatitude synoptic weather intrusions. This study and hypothesis lays basis for an extrapolation of these MPLNET experiments to satellite-based lidar cirrus cloud datasets.

James R Campbell↗

NASA NTRS1991

Geostationary earth climate sensor: Scientific utility and feasibility, phase A

The possibility of accurate broad band radiation budget measurements from a GEO platform will provide a unique opportunity for viewing radiation processes in the atmosphere-ocean system. The CSU/TRW team has prepared a Phase 1 instrument design study demonstrating that measurements of radiation budget are practical from geosynchronous orbit with proven technology. This instrument concept is the Geostationary Earth Climate Sensor (GECS). A range of resolutions down to 20 km at the top of the atmosphere are possible, depending upon the scientific goals of the experiment. These tradeoffs of resolution and measurement repeat cycles are examined for scientific utility. The design of a flexible instrument is shown to be possible to meet the two goals: long-term, systematic monitoring of the diurnal cycles of radiation budget; and high time and space resolution studies of regional radiation features.

Campbell, G. Garrett↗

NASA NTRS2020

Hawai'i Water Resources: Utilizing NASA Earth Observations to Assess Ocean Conditions Leading to the Spread of the Nuisance Red Algae (Chondria tumulosa) in Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument, Hawai’i

Chondria tumulosa, a newly discovered red alga, was observed in low abundance in 2016 but has since proliferated and is now smothering and decimating vast expanse of coral reefs in Manawai, located in Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument (PMNM). If the spread persists, the outbreak of this cryptogenic species could potentially cause region-wide ecosystem degradation. In coordination with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Marine National Monuments of the Pacific and the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Office of National Marine Sanctuaries’ Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument, this project created a tool to analyze oceanographic conditions (sea surface temperature (SST), chlorophyll-a, water velocity, salinity, turbidity) across the Monument that could potentially be driving the algal spread. The Google Earth Engine tool enabled the partners to visualize oceanographic conditions and gather time-series graphs utilizing Aqua and Terra Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS), Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership (NPP) Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS), Sentinel-3 Ocean and Land Colour Instrument (OLCI), Hybrid Coordinate Ocean Model (HYCOM) and NOAA's Climate Data Record in a user-friendly interface. The team used in situ SST data from subsurface temperature recorders provided by the partners to validate the tool's accuracy. Preliminary statistical analysis of MODIS data found warming trends in SST in Manawai as well as increased chlorophyll-a levels during the summer months in contrast to the control (non-infected) Lalo atoll. The tool did not aim to classify algal presence due to limited availability of higher resolution satellite imagery but instead enabled PMNM managers to monitor conditions that may be conducive to algal growth around the monument to make informed decisions and mitigation practices.

DEVELOP Project Summary↗

NASA NTRS1999

Diurnal Lightning Distribution as Observed by the Optical Transient Detector (OTD)

Since April 1995, lightning activity around the globe has been monitored with the Optical Transient Detector (OTD). The OTD observations acquired during the one year period from September 1995 through August 1996 have been used to statistically determine the number of flashes that occur over the Earth during each hour of the diurnal cycle, expressed both as a function of local time and universal time. The globally averaged local [il,htnina activity displays a peak in late afternoon (1500-1800 local time) and a minimum in the morning hours (0600- 1000 local time) consistent with convection associated with diurnal heating. No diurnal variation is found for oceanic storms. The diurnal lightning distribution (universal time) for the globe displays a variation of about 35% about its mean as compared to the Carnegie curve which has a variation of only 15% above and below the mean.

Blakeslee, Richard J.↗

NASA NTRS2016

Spaceborne Sun-Induced Vegetation Fluorescence Time Series from 2007 to 2015 Evaluated with Australian Flux Tower Measurements

A global, monthly averaged time series of Sun-induced Fluorescence (SiF), spanning January 2007 to June 2015, was derived from Metop-A Global Ozone Monitoring Experiment 2 (GOME-2) spectral measurements. Far-red SiF was retrieved using the filling-in of deep solar Fraunhofer lines and atmospheric absorption bands based on the general methodology described by Joiner et al, AMT, 2013. A Principal Component (PC) analysis of spectra over non-vegetated areas was performed to describe the effects of atmospheric absorption. Our implementation (SiF KNMI) is an independent algorithm and differs from the latest implementation of Joiner et al, AMT, 2013 (SiF NASA, v26), because we used desert reference areas for determining PCs (as opposed to cloudy ocean and some desert) and a wider fit window that covers water vapour and oxygen absorption bands (as opposed to only Fraunhofer lines). As a consequence, more PCs were needed (35 as opposed to 12). The two time series (SiF KNMI and SiF NASA, v26) correlate well (overall R of 0.78) except for tropical rain forests. Sensitivity experiments suggest the strong impact of the water vapour absorption band on retrieved SiF values. Furthermore, we evaluated the SiF time series with Gross Primary Productivity (GPP) derived from twelve flux towers in Australia. Correlations for individual towers range from 0.37 to 0.84. They are particularly high for managed biome types. In the de-seasonalized Australian SiF time series, the break of the Millennium Drought during local summer of 2010/2011 is clearly observed.

Australia↗

NASA NTRS2018

A Comprehensive Model of Earth's Magnetic Field Determined from 4 Years of Swarm Satellite Observations

The European Space Agency's three-satellite constellation Swarm, launched in November 2013, has provided unprecedented monitoring of Earth's magnetic field via a unique set of gradiometric and multi-satellite measurements from low Earth orbit. In order to exploit these measurements, an advanced "Comprehensive Inversion" (CI) algorithm has been developed to optimally separate the various major magnetic field sources in the near-Earth regime. The CI algorithm is used to determine Swarm Level-2 (L2) magnetic field data products that include the core, lithospheric, ionospheric, magnetospheric, and associated induced sources. In addition, it has become apparent that the CI is capable of extracting the magnetic signal associated with the oceanic principal lunar semi-diurnal tidal constituent M(sub 2) to such an extent that it has been added to the L2 data product line. This paper presents the parent model of the Swarm L2 CI products derived with measurements from the first four years of the Swarm mission and from ground observatories, denoted as "CIY4", including the new product describing the magnetic signal of the M(sub 2) oceanic tide.

Swarm Satellites↗

NASA NTRS2019

Improving Surface Soil Moisture Estimates in West Africa Through GRACE Data Assimilation

Recent annual trends of precipitation and terrestrial water storage (TWS) in West Africa have been increasing over the past decade. Despite a significant impact of soil moisture on the TWS in West Africa, there is little research on the recent spatial and temporal behaviors of surface soil moisture (SSM) along with the hydrological trends and variability in West Africa. In this study, we assimilate TWS estimates from the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) mission into the Catchment Land Surface Model (CLSM) and evaluate its impacts on SSM simulations for the years, 2002–2017. The evaluation is performed using reference datasets: the African Monsoon Multidisciplinary Analysis (AMMA) in situ soil moisture observations, three currently available microwave satellite SSM observations from the Advanced Scatterometer (ASCAT), the Soil Moisture Ocean Salinity (SMOS), and the Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) satellites and also the triple collocation analysis (TCA). Overall, modeled SSM shows good agreement with the reference datasets in terms of the anomaly SSM correlations. However, both modeled and ASCAT SSM are limited in their representation of the drying rates, as observed by ground observations, SMOS and SMAP estimates. Further, GRACE data assimilation results in improved SSM simulations in the humid regions with large annual TWS variability. This study demonstrates the utility of land data assimilation to inform hydrological conditions in West Africa, where soil moisture monitoring is necessary for water resource and livestock management.

West Africa↗

NASA NTRS1992

Water Sensors

Mike Morris, former Associate Director of STAC, formed pHish Doctor, Inc. to develop and sell a pH monitor for home aquariums. The monitor, or pHish Doctor, consists of a sensor strip and color chart that continually measures pH levels in an aquarium. This is important because when the level gets too high, ammonia excreted by fish is highly toxic; at low pH, bacteria that normally break down waste products stop functioning. Sales have run into the tens of thousands of dollars. A NASA Tech Brief Technical Support Package later led to a salt water version of the system and a DoE Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant for development of a sensor for sea buoys. The company, now known as Ocean Optics, Inc., is currently studying the effects of carbon dioxide buildup as well as exploring other commercial applications for the fiber optic sensor.

Source record↗

NASA NTRS2015

Automated Segmentation and Classification of Coral Using Fluid Lensing from Unmanned Airborne Platforms

In recent years, there has been a growing interest among biologists in monitoring the short and long term health of the worlds coral reefs. The environmental impact of climate change poses a growing threat to these biologically diverse and fragile ecosystems, prompting scientists to use remote sensing platforms and computer vision algorithms to analyze shallow marine systems. In this study, we present a novel method for performing coral segmentation and classification from aerial data collected from small unmanned aerial vehicles (sUAV). Our method uses Fluid Lensing algorithms to remove and exploit strong optical distortions created along the air-fluid boundary to produce cm-scale resolution imagery of the ocean floor at depths up to 5 meters. A 3D model of the reef is reconstructed using structure from motion (SFM) algorithms, and the associated depth information is combined with multidimensional maximum a posteriori (MAP) estimation to separate organic from inorganic material and classify coral morphologies in the Fluid-Lensed transects. In this study, MAP estimation is performed using a set of manually classified 100 x 100 pixel training images to determine the most probable coral classification within an interrogated region of interest. Aerial footage of a coral reef was captured off the coast of American Samoa and used to test our proposed method. 90 x 20 meter transects of the Samoan coastline undergo automated classification and are manually segmented by a marine biologist for comparison, leading to success rates as high as 85. This method has broad applications for coastal remote sensing, and will provide marine biologists access to large swaths of high resolution, segmented coral imagery.

algorithms segments classifications↗

NASA NTRS2011

The NASA Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) Mission - Algorithm and Cal/Val Activities and Synergies with SMOS and Other L-Band Missions

NASA's Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) mission, planned for launch in late 2014, has as its key measurement objective the frequent, global mapping of near-surface soil moisture and its freeze-thaw state. SMAP soil moisture and freeze/thaw measurements at 10 km and 3 km resolutions respectively, would enable significantly improved estimates of water, energy and carbon transfers between the land and atmosphere. Soil moisture control of these fluxes is a key factor in the performance of atmospheric models used for weather forecasts and climate projections Soil moisture measurements are also of great importance in assessing floods and for monitoring drought. In addition, observations of soil moisture and freeze/thaw timing over the boreal latitudes can help reduce uncertainties in quantifying the global carbon balance. The SMAP measurement concept utilizes an L-band radar and radiometer sharing a rotating 6-meter mesh reflector antenna. The SMAP radiometer and radar flight hardware and ground processing designs are incorporating approaches to identify and mitigate potential terrestrial radio frequency interference (RFI). The radar and radiometer instruments are planned to operate in a 680 km polar orbit, viewing the surface at a constant 40-degree incidence angle with a 1000-km swath width, providing 3-day global coverage. Data from the instruments would yield global maps of soil moisture and freeze/thaw state to be provided at 10 km and 3 km resolutions respectively, every two to three days. Plans are to provide also a radiometer-only soil moisture product at 40-km spatial resolution. This product and the underlying brightness temperatures have characteristics similar to those provided by the Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity (SMOS) mission. As a result, there are unique opportunities for common data product development and continuity between the two missions. SMAP also has commonalities with other satellite missions having L-band radiometer and/or radar sensors applicable to soil moisture measurement, such as Aquarius, SAO COM, and ALOS-2. The algorithms and data products for SMAP are being developed in the SMAP Science Data System (SDS) Testbed. The algorithms are developed and evaluated in the SDS Testbed using simulated SMAP observations as well as observational data from current airborne and spaceborne L-band sensors including SMOS. The SMAP project is developing a Calibration and Validation (Cal/Val) Plan that is designed to support algorithm development (pre-launch) and data product validation (post-launch). A key component of the Cal/Val Plan is the identification, characterization, and instrumentation of sites that can be used to calibrate and validate the sensor data (Level I) and derived geophysical products (Level 2 and higher). In this presentation we report on the development status of the SMAP data product algorithms, and the planning and implementation of the SMAP Cal/Val program. Several components of the SMAP algorithm development and Cal/Val plans have commonality with those of SMOS, and for this reason there are shared activities and resources that can be utilized between the missions, including in situ networks, ancillary data sets, and long-term monitoring sites.

Njoku, Eni↗

NASA NTRS2010

Investigating the Performance of the Jason-2/OSTM Radar Altimeter Over Lakes and Reservoirs

Many inland water investigations utilize archival and near-real time radar altimetry data to enable observation of the variation in surface water level. A multi-altimeter approach allows a more global outlook with improved spatial resolution, and combined long-term observations improve statistical analyses. Central to all programs is a performance assessment of each instrument. Here, we focus on data quantity and quality pertaining to the Poseidon-3 radar altimeter onboard the Jason-2/OSTM satellite.Utilizing an interim data set (IGDR), studies show that the new on-board DIODE/median and DIODE/DEM tracking modes are performing well, acquiring and maintaining the majority of lake and reservoir surfaces in varying terrains. The 20-Hz along-track resolution of the data, and particularly the availability of the range output from the ice-retracker algorithm, also improves the number of valid height measurements. Based on test-case lakes and reservoirs, output from the ice-retracker algorithm is also seen to have a clear advantage over the ocean-retracker having better height stability across calm and icy surfaces, a greater ability to gain coastline waters, and less sensitivity to loss of water surface when there is island contamination in the radar echo. Such on-board tracking and postprocessing retracking enables the lake waters to be quickly gained after coastline crossing. Values can range from <0.1 s to 2.5 s, but the majority of measurements are obtained in less than 0.4 s or <2.3 km from the coast. Validation exercises reveal that targets of 150 km2 surface area and 0.8 km width are able to be monitored offering greater potential to acquire lakes in the 100 C300 km2 size-category. Time series of height variations are also found to be accurate to 3 to 33 cm rms depending on target size and the presence of winter ice. These findings are an improvement over the IGDR/GDR results from the predecessor Jason-1 and TOPEX/Poseidon missions and can satisfy the accuracy requirements of both the science-related and operational lake study programs.

Birkett, C. M.↗

NASA NTRS2016

Automated Segmentation and Classification of Coral using Fluid Lensing from Unmanned Airborne Platforms

In recent years, there has been a growing interest among biologists in monitoring the short and long term health of the world's coral reefs. The environmental impact of climate change poses a growing threat to these biologically diverse and fragile ecosystems, prompting scientists to use remote sensing platforms and computer vision algorithms to analyze shallow marine systems. In this study, we present a novel method for performing coral segmentation and classification from aerial data collected from small unmanned aerial vehicles (sUAV). Our method uses Fluid Lensing algorithms to remove and exploit strong optical distortions created along the air-fluid boundary to produce cm-scale resolution imagery of the ocean floor at depths up to 5 meters. A 3D model of the reef is reconstructed using structure from motion (SFM) algorithms, and the associated depth information is combined with multidimensional maximum a posteriori (MAP) estimation to separate organic from inorganic material and classify coral morphologies in the Fluid-Lensed transects. In this study, MAP estimation is performed using a set of manually classified 100 x 100 pixel training images to determine the most probable coral classification within an interrogated region of interest. Aerial footage of a coral reef was captured off the coast of American Samoa and used to test our proposed method. 90 x 20 meter transects of the Samoan coastline undergo automated classification and are manually segmented by a marine biologist for comparison, leading to success rates as high as 85%. This method has broad applications for coastal remote sensing, and will provide marine biologists access to large swaths of high resolution, segmented coral imagery.

algorithms segments classifications↗

NASA NTRS2021

State of the Climate in 2020: Global Oceans

This chapter details 2020 global patterns in select observed oceanic physical, chemical, and biological variables relative to long-term climatologies, their differences between 2020 and 2019, and puts 2020 observations in the context of the historical record. In this overview we address a few of the highlights, first in haiku, then paragraph form: La Niña arrives, shifts winds, rain, heat, salt, carbon: Pacific—beyond. Compiled by NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information, "State of the Climate in 2020" is based on contributions from scientists from around the world. It provides a detailed update on global climate indicators, notable weather events, and other data collected by environmental monitoring stations and instruments located on land, water, ice, and in space. The full report is available from: https://doi.org/10.1175/2021BAMSStateoftheClimate.1.

Gregory C Johnson↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Assessment of the Sentinel-6Michael Frielich extension to the TOPEX/Jason Sea Surface Height Climate Data Record referenced to ITRF2020

The recent launch of Sentinel-6 Michael Freilichoffers the possibility of continuing global mean sea level (GMSL) monitoring well into the currentdecade. In this presentation we report Sentinel-6/Jason-3inter-mission bias estimates based on direct sea surface height (SSH) collinear differences of near coincident measurements during the verification phase, and with comparisons to a global network of tide gauges. In an effort to provide a more consistent SSH time series and seamlesstransition to Sentinel-6, we have generated orbits for the entire time span based on the revised ITRF2020terrestrial reference frame.We reportthe efficacy ofcorrection algorithm revisions leading to the development of the NASA MEaSURE’s V6.0 sea surface height Climate Data Record(MEaSUREs -Integrated Multi-Mission Ocean Altimeter Data for Climate Research (MEaSUREs-SSH) | PO.DAAC / JPL / NASA).We provide an assessment of recent improvements to the accuracy of the 30+ year sea surface height time series, describe continuing calibration/validation activities, and evaluate the subsequent impact on current global mean sea level estimates, and the accounting of the ocean mass budget.

B D Beckley↗

NASA NTRS2005

Impact of the Sun on Remote Sensing of Sea Surface Salinity from Space

The sun is a sufficiently strong source of radiation at L-band to be an important source of interference for radiometers on future satellite missions such as SMOS, Aquarius, and Hydros designed to monitor soil moisture and sea surface salinity. Radiation from the sun can impact passive remote sensing systems in several ways, including line-of-sight radiation that comes directly from the sun and enters through antenna side lobes and radiation that is reflected from the surface to the radiometer. Examples are presented in the case of Aquarius, a pushbroom radiometer with three beams designed to monitor sea surface salinity. Near solar minimum, solar contamination is not a problem unless the sun enters near the main beam. But near solar maximum, contamination from the sun equivalent to a change of salinity on the order of 0.1 psu can occur even when the signal enters in sidelobes far from the main beam.

COMPONENT REPORTS↗

NASA NTRS2001

Tropical Tropospheric Ozone and Smoke Interactions: Satellite Observations During the 1997 Indonesian Fires

Biomass burning generates hydrocarbons, nitrogen oxides and carbon monoxide that lead to tropospheric ozone pollution. Other combustion products form soot and various aerosol particles that make up smoke. Since early 1997 smoke and tropospheric ozone have been monitored in real-time from TOMS (Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer) at toms.gsfc.nasa.gov (smoke aerosol) and metosrv2.umd.edu/-tropo (tropospheric ozone). The striking increase in smoke and tropospheric ozone observed during the 1997 Indonesian fires was the first extreme episode observed. During the August-November period, plumes of excess ozone and smoke coincided at times but were decoupled at other times, a phenomenon followed with trajectories. Thus, trans-boundary evolution of smoke and ozone differed greatly. The second discovery of the 1997 TOMS record was a dynamical interaction of ozone with the strong El Nino Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) that led to a jump in tropospheric ozone in March 1997 over the entire Indian Ocean, well ahead of the intense burning period. A climatology of smoke and tropospheric ozone from a 1980's TOMS instrument shows offsets in the timing of these pollutants - further evidence that factors other than biomass burning exert a strong influence on tropical tropospheric ozone.

Thompson, A. M.↗

NASA NTRS2012

Vandenberg Air Force Base Upper Level Wind Launch Weather Constraints

The 30th Operational Support Squadron Weather Flight (30 OSSWF) provides comprehensive weather services to the space program at Vandenberg Air Force Base (VAFB) in California. One of their responsibilities is to monitor upper-level winds to ensure safe launch operations of the Minuteman III ballistic missile. The 30 OSSWF tasked the Applied Meteorology Unit (AMU) to analyze VAFB sounding data with the goal of determining the probability of violating (PoV) their upper-level thresholds for wind speed and shear constraints specific to this launch vehicle, and to develop a tool that will calculate the PoV of each constraint on the day of launch. In order to calculate the probability of exceeding each constraint, the AMU collected and analyzed historical data from VAFB. The historical sounding data were retrieved from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Earth System Research Laboratory archive for the years 1994-2011 and then stratified into four sub-seasons: January-March, April-June, July-September, and October-December. The maximum wind speed and 1000-ft shear values for each sounding in each subseason were determined. To accurately calculate the PoV, the AMU determined the theoretical distributions that best fit the maximum wind speed and maximum shear datasets. Ultimately it was discovered that the maximum wind speeds follow a Gaussian distribution while the maximum shear values follow a lognormal distribution. These results were applied when calculating the averages and standard deviations needed for the historical and real-time PoV calculations. In addition to the requirements outlined in the original task plan, the AMU also included forecast sounding data from the Rapid Refresh model. This information provides further insight for the launch weather officers (LWOs) when determining if a wind constraint violation will occur over the next few hours on day of launch. The interactive graphical user interface (GUI) for this project was developed in Microsoft Excel using Visual Basic for Applications. The GUI displays the critical sounding data easily and quickly for the LWOs on day of launch. This tool will replace the existing one used by the 30 OSSWF, assist the LWOs in determining the probability of exceeding specific wind threshold values, and help to improve the overall upper winds forecast for the launch customer.

Shafer, Jaclyn A.↗

NASA NTRS2012

Determining the Probability of Violating Upper-Level Wind Constraints for the Launch of Minuteman III Ballistic Missiles at Vandenberg Air Force Base

The 30th Operational Support Squadron Weather Flight (30 OSSWF) provides comprehensive weather services to the space program at Vandenberg Air Force Base (VAFB) in California. One of their responsibilities is to monitor upper-level winds to ensure safe launch operations of the Minuteman Ill ballistic missile. The 30 OSSWF tasked the Applied Meteorology Unit (AMU) to analyze VAFB sounding data with the goal of determining the probability of violating (PoV) their upper-level thresholds for wind speed and shear constraints specific to this launch vehicle, and to develop a tool that will calculate the PoV of each constraint on the day of launch. In order to calculate the probability of exceeding each constraint, the AMU collected and analyzed historical data from VAFB. The historical sounding data were retrieved from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Earth System Research Laboratory archive for the years 1994-2011 and then stratified into four sub-seasons: January-March, April-June, July-September, and October-December. The AMU determined the theoretical distributions that best fit the maximum wind speed and maximum wind shear datasets and applied this information when calculating the averages and standard deviations needed for the historical and real-time PoV calculations. In addition, the AMU included forecast sounding data from the Rapid Refresh model. This information provides further insight for the launch weather officers (LWOs) when determining if a wind constraint violation will occur over the next few hours on the day of launch. The AMU developed an interactive graphical user interface (GUI) in Microsoft Excel using Visual Basic for Applications. The GUI displays the critical sounding data easily and quickly for LWOs on day of launch. This tool will replace the existing one used by the 30 OSSWF, assist the LWOs in determining the probability of exceeding specific wind threshold values, and help to improve the overall upper winds forecast for the launch customer. This presentation will describe how the AMU calculated the historical and real-time PoV values for the specific upper-level wind launch constraints and outline the development of the interactive GUI display.

Shafer, Jaclyn A.↗